it was a cold but

00:03

sunny autumn day in the north of

00:06

england one of those lovely crisp days

00:10

which are perfect for walking or

00:13

exploring

00:14

something new

00:17

lisa was at work she was bored

00:21

and kept looking out of the window

00:23

wishing she was somewhere else

00:26

lisa worked in an office it was gray

00:30

and boring

00:34

her work colleagues were nice but she

00:36

didn't really

00:37

enjoy her job she didn't want to be

00:41

inside writing annoying emails

00:44

when she could be doing something else

00:47

something fun

00:50

lisa worked in the healthcare sector as

00:53

a project manager

00:55

she studied business at university

00:58

it was a fun time and she partied a lot

01:01

with her friends

01:03

it was the best three years of her life

01:06

so far

01:09

every day she experienced something new

01:12

almost every week was a different fancy

01:15

dress party

01:17

she didn't enjoy learning about business

01:19

and economics

01:21
but she enjoyed meeting new people and

01:24

learning new skills

01:28

after she finished her studies she got a

01:32

job

01:32

and worked her way up from assistant to

01:35

a project manager

01:37

in only four years

01:42

she was very good at her job but

01:45

something was missing what she really

01:48

wanted was to live by the sea

01:50

and work as a teacher

01:55

she lived in an industrial city with

01:58

lots of people

01:59

and lots of noise sometimes she wished

02:03

she could go
02:03

somewhere quiet and just enjoy

02:07

being in nature she

02:10

loved to spend her time outside she

02:13

often went running

02:14

and outdoor swimming even when it was

02:17

cold

02:20

lisa lived in a small but comfortable

02:22

flat

02:23

with her pet dog jake it had a lounge

02:27

a kitchen a bathroom and a big bedroom

02:31

it wasn't fancy but it would do for now

02:35

she lived next to a large field where

02:38

she could take jake for a walk

02:40

every day

02:44
in her spare time lisa liked to teach

02:47

arts and crafts she was very good at

02:50

painting

02:51

and was a talented artist she was a

02:54

patient

02:55

person and could explain difficult

02:57

topics

02:58

in a very simple way

03:03

she volunteered at a local art school

03:06

and loved to help people she liked to

03:10

use

03:10

art to help people relax

03:13

maybe she could be an art therapist one

03:16

day

03:20

back at her desk lisa kept looking out

03:24

of the window

03:25

instead of thinking about planning

03:27

projects

03:28

her mind was at the coast just at that

03:32

moment

03:32

she got an email notification she picked

03:36

up her phone

03:37

and opened the email

03:40

it was an offer for cheap train tickets

03:43

to whitby

03:44

a beautiful seaside town in north

03:47

yorkshire

03:49

lisa didn't think for very long she

03:52

clicked to the link

03:53
and ordered a ticket for the upcoming

03:56

weekend

03:59

after all she had spare holiday days to

04:02

take

04:03

and she knew it would not be a problem

04:05

with her boss

04:06

he was really easy going he was so laid

04:10

back

04:10

he was almost horizontal

04:14

lisa was so excited she started to look

04:18

for somewhere to stay

04:20

and found a lovely little bed and

04:22

breakfast

04:23

b and b which had sea view rooms

04:27

it was quite cheap she decided to give

04:30

the owner a call

04:31

and check the details

04:36

hello dracula's den jenny speaking

04:40

oh hi my name is lisa i wondered if you

04:44

had a spare

04:45

single room for this weekend hi lisa

04:49

yes we do uh it's an ensuite with a bath

04:52

and shower

04:53

and you're lucky i have one single room

04:56

left with a sea view

04:57

would you like me to book you in

05:03

lisa thought about this she really

05:06

wanted to be

05:07

able to take her dog jake with her

05:11
do you allow pets of course we do

05:14

love the more the merrier the room will

05:17

be 50 pound a night

05:19

and includes breakfast you can also use

05:22

our hire bikes for free

05:25

lisa was so happy jake would love

05:29

a trip to the seaside oh great

05:32

just one last thing how far are you from

05:35

the train station

05:37

jenny sounded like she was checking

05:40

something

05:41

one minute darling there was more noise

05:44

sorry love i can pick you up from the

05:46

train station

05:47

or you can walk it's only five minutes

05:50

up the hill

05:53

lisa was so pleased that she called the

05:56

bnb

05:57

now she was sure she wanted to stay

06:00

there

06:01

that's a lovely gesture thank you but

06:04

i'm happy to walk

06:05

could i book the room for friday and

06:08

saturday night

06:09

i'll arrive at about 3 p.m on friday

06:13

lisa could hear jenny tapping into a

06:16

computer

06:17

that sounds lovely to me i'll pop you in

06:20

now

06:20
what's your last name lisa

06:25

it's legend lisa legend and my dog is

06:29

jake

06:30

do i need to pay now jenny was tapping

06:33

again on her keyboard no it's all right

06:37

love

06:37

we'll see you and jake on friday

06:43

lisa almost danced back to her desk

06:47

she struggled to concentrate on her work

06:50

she found herself looking out of the

06:52

window more than usual

06:54

she also kept secretly googling whitby

06:58

and all the things she could do there

07:04

when the clock struck 5 pm she almost

07:08

flew out of the office she jumped down

07:11

the stairs

07:12

and ran to her bike as she cycled home

07:15

with the very noisy traffic around her

07:18

she thought about how much she wanted to

07:21

get away

07:22

and enjoy some peace and quiet

07:29

she arrived home half an hour later

07:32

and when she opened the door jake ran to

07:35

her

07:36

he was always so happy to see her

07:43

lisa took jake for a walk around the big

07:46

field close to her flat

07:49

as she walked around the field and

07:51

greeted her neighbors

07:53
lisa felt very grateful

07:56

she liked her colleagues and her

07:58

neighbors

07:59

and she was very lucky that she had very

08:02

good friends

08:03

and a loving family but something was

08:06

missing

08:07

perhaps she would find it in whitby

08:15

when she finally arrived home an hour

08:18

later

08:19

she made herself a cup of tea and

08:21

decided to check the details

08:23

of her journey the train would take

08:26

three

08:27

hours to get to whitby and she would

08:29

have to make

08:30

one change on the way

08:36

she didn't mind as it broke up the

08:38

journey and meant that jake could have a

08:41

little walk outside

08:43

she would arrive in whitby at 305 pm

08:47

the perfect time to drop off her bag and

08:50

go for

08:51

afternoon tea or fish and chips by

08:55

the sea

08:59

a few days later

09:04

it was friday and instead of dragging

09:07

herself

09:08

out of bed like usual lisa jumped down

09:12
the stairs

09:12

and made herself a quick copper as she

09:16

brewed up

09:17

she checked she had everything in order

09:20

packed bag check tickets

09:24

check money check

09:27

passport well she didn't need that

09:35

she called a taxi and tried not to get

09:38

herself in a tizzy she wanted to remain

09:41

calm but she just couldn't wait to

09:45

feel the sea air on her skin

09:50

she arrived at the train station with

09:53

plenty of time

09:54

but almost missed the train because she

09:57

was messing about

09:58

ordering a coffee and chatting to the

10:01

lovely man behind the counter

10:03

who really liked jake she always

10:07

told people if you want to make friends

10:10

get a dog a few

10:14

hours later the train rolled into the

10:17

small

10:18

station close to whitby harbour this was

10:21

it

10:22

she had made it jake was excited by the

10:26

new sounds

10:27

and smells as he pulled her off the

10:29

train

10:30

walking the route to the b and b was

10:33
a dream

10:38

lisa followed the road by the water

10:42

until she had to make a left turn up

10:44

some steep

10:45

alleyways and narrow roads the bnb

10:49

was definitely further than five minutes

10:52

unless she was getting unfit after

10:55

huffing and puffing up the hill she made

10:58

it through the door

11:00

and was greeted by the receptionist who

11:03

took her

11:04

to her room

11:09

as she opened the door lisa was

11:12

in shock the view was stunning

11:16

and she actually enjoyed the noise of

11:19

the seagulls

11:21

people would normally pay much more than

11:24

she was

11:24

for a view like that

11:29

she looked out and saw everything whitby

11:33

had to offer

11:34

from the pier through to the river-esque

11:37

and the beautiful little cottagers and

11:40

houses

11:41

mismatched across the mini valley

11:44

but what most intrigued her was a stark

11:47

looking building

11:48

at the top of the opposite hill the

11:51

whitby

11:54
abbey

11:58

the gothic building was over 1

12:01

500 years old and dominated the

12:05

coastline

12:07

people came from all over the world to

12:10

visit the place that inspired the writer

12:12

of dracula

12:13

back in the 1890s lisa had also

12:18

heard of whitby's infamous goth weekend

12:21

that happened twice a year there was

12:24

something

12:24

unusual about this little town

12:33

lisa decided to explore for the

12:35

afternoon

12:37

of course this included fish and chips

12:40

lisa found the cafe she wanted to go to

12:44

and made her way there as soon as she

12:47

sat down

12:48

she got talking to the lady at the table

12:51

next to her

12:56

the people up north were so friendly

12:59

the lady told her more about the abbey

13:02

the town's links to captain cook and she

13:06

told her that people often surf

13:09

lisa decided that if the forecast looked

13:12

good for saturday

13:14

she would go surfing

13:19

after finishing her lunch she crossed

13:22

over the bridge to the other side of the

13:25
town

13:26

along the way jake got lots of attention

13:30

as always but lisa didn't mind

13:33

she loved talking to people

13:39

after spending a long afternoon walking

13:42

off her

13:42

fish and chips and enjoying whitby abbey

13:46

lisa decided to make her way back down

13:49

the famous

13:52

199 steps

13:54

she had learned so much about the

13:56

history of the town

13:58

its famous fishing past and about the

14:01

inhabitants

14:02

of the abbey as she absorbed the

14:05

information

14:06

she stumbled across an art gallery

14:09

there were lots of little shops and art

14:12

galleries

14:12

in whitby but this one caught her

14:16

eye it was cozy she

14:19

left jake outside and went in

14:27

lisa studied fine art at college

14:30

and loved nothing more than reading

14:32

about the interesting

14:34

and often eccentric lives that the

14:37

artists had led

14:39

she particularly admired the work of

14:42

gustav klimt

14:43
for his use of colour and gold leaf

14:47

as she wandered through the gallery she

14:49

was impressed

14:50

by the quality of the work

14:57

the gallery was for local artists

15:00

many of the pictures were of the

15:02

beautiful local landscape

15:05

as she browsed the small rooms she

15:08

noticed a leaflet

15:09

that read teacher wanted for adult

15:12

art class lisa picked it up

15:16

and read the requirements she met them

15:19

all

15:23

she had experience teaching adults and

15:26

children and she had a strong interest

15:29

in

15:30

art therapy with a sigh

15:33

she started to doubt herself maybe she

15:36

wasn't ready to start

15:38

a new career yet

15:42

as she left the art gallery lisa slowly

15:46

made her way back to the b and b

15:49

tired from her first day in the seaside

15:52

town

15:56

the next morning lisa woke up bright

15:59

and early she scoffed a full

16:02

english breakfast and then walked down

16:05

to the beach with jake

16:07

the previous night she decided after a

16:10
couple of beers

16:12

in the local pub to sign up for a

16:15

surfing class

16:16

the surfing company said they would look

16:19

after jake

16:20

while she was in the sea she had a

16:23

little hangover

16:25

but she was sure some sea air would help

16:32

by chance her surfing teacher was

16:36

also the owner of the gallery where she

16:38

went the day before

16:40

she was called georgina and knew

16:43

everything there was to know

16:45

about the local arts scene she had

16:49

studied art
16:50

and sculpture at university and

16:53

also loved to help other people

16:56

get creative

17:01

after the lesson lisa decided to visit

17:04

the captain cook museum and afterwards

17:08

she went for a pub dinner before falling

17:11

into bed early

17:13

surfing really does take it out of you

17:16

as lisa laid in bed reading her book

17:20

her thoughts kept drifting back to her

17:23

morning in the water

17:25

and what georgina had said

17:31

she was very interested in the job

17:34

it was exactly the sort of job she was

17:37
looking for

17:38

it was very creative and did not involve

17:42

being sat

17:42

behind a computer all day long

17:46

she decided to google the company she

17:49

found an amazing website

17:52

with lots of information about the

17:54

classes

17:55

they offered

18:00

the staff all looked friendly and the

18:03

reviews were

18:04

almost five out of five lisa thought

18:08

about it a little more

18:10

before falling into a peaceful sleep

18:16

lisa woke up feeling sad

18:19

she got out of bed pulled back the

18:22

curtains

18:23

and admired the wonderful view

18:26

she sighed loudly at the thought of

18:28

having to leave

18:29

in just a few hours she really

18:33

did love whitby

18:38

as she ate her sausage bacon and eggs

18:42

breakfast

18:43

she kept looking at the leaflet that she

18:46

had taken from the gallery

18:48

but it's sunday morning she thought

18:52

no one will want to receive a phone call

18:55

at this time

18:58
as she finished her food jenny the

19:01

helpful lady she had spoken to

19:04

on the phone just a few days before saw

19:07

the leaflet i used to do pottery classes

19:10

with them

19:11

absolutely loved it met my best mate

19:15

there

19:16

oh i thought they were a new company

19:19

lisa replied no love they've been around

19:23

for yonks

19:24

very established they do a lot of stuff

19:27

in

19:28

old people's homes and schools as well

19:33

after waving goodbye to dracula's den

19:36

lisa told jenny she would be back

19:39

as she walked down to the train station

19:42

lisa had butterflies in her stomach at

19:45

the thought of leaving

19:47

the only other time she had felt that

19:49

feeling

19:51

was when she left home to go to

19:53

university

19:57

she boarded the train and again for most

20:00

of the journey

20:01

she looked out of the window jake was

20:05

also restless

20:07

the train rolled into the station 10

20:10

minutes late

20:11

and lisa called a taxi home as soon as

20:14
she got in

20:15

she unpacked her clothes and fed jake

20:19

then she decided to do something

20:22

something she was scared to do

20:28

she opened her laptop and started

20:31

writing an

20:31

email to the owner of the gallery

20:34

she realized with each new sentence

20:38

how passionate she was about the little

20:40

seaside town

20:42

and her love for the arts she attached

20:45

images and videos of her work

20:49

and her cv she was nervous

20:52

but she knew she had to at least try

20:56

now or never she said as she hit

21:00

send

21:04

the next morning was a tough one

21:07

lisa cycled to work when she reached her

21:10

office she really felt the holiday blues

21:14

she started going through her emails

21:17

and although she had only missed one day

21:20

of work

21:21

she realized she had a lot to catch up

21:25

on

21:25

the problem was she didn't have any

21:29

passion for any of it

21:31

who was she really helping

21:38

she made it through to lunchtime and as

21:41

she sat

21:42
eating her packed lunch of a cheese and

21:45

ham

21:45

sarni she decided to check her phone

21:49

and there right at the top of her

21:52

notifications

21:54

she read the words interview

21:57

for art workshop leader

22:01

her stomach was doing flips she

22:04

almost screamed out loud with excitement

22:08

get in she whispered to herself

22:12

as she replied to the interview email

22:15

and finished her lunch with a smile

22:18

on her face

22:22

we hope you enjoyed this short lovely

22:26

english story thank you for stopping by

22:30

don't forget to like and subscribe